Collapsible binoculars may be used at sporting events, concerts, operas, amusement parks and the like to enhance the view of distant objects. Such binoculars have highly practical characteristics and are generally inexpensive.
Collapsible and foldable binoculars are known in the prior art. Disadvantages, however, exist with the prior art binoculars. Many of the binoculars in the prior art are formed from a single blank having complicated fold arrangements to enable the binocular to be collapsed. Some of the binoculars, when collapsed, leave the lenses unprotected, and therefore, the lenses are easily scratched or damaged. The lenses are also unprotected when the binocular is being used. Other types of collapsible binoculars are not suited for convenient storage. The lenses of the binocular disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,111 protrude from the collapsed body and therefore, the binocular is not completely flat when collapsed or folded. Protruding lenses add cumbersome bulk to the binocular when it is collapsed, and are also more likely to be broken or damaged. The disadvantage of unprotected lenses has been overcome in U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,328, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,498 by providing a case in which to store the folded binocular when it is not in use. In order to fit into the case, the binoculars have narrowly spaced fold lines which reduce the overall strength and durability of the binocular. Furthermore, the case must be stored or held when the binocular is being used.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,709, a visor which folds over the objective lens to protect the lenses is provided. A large number of fold lines are required to enable collapsing and folding the binocular, which make the binocular unsturdy. The collapsible binocular of U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,747 has modified visors on both the front and rear walls to protect the lenses. The visor on the front wall, however, prevents properly positioning the eyes near the eyepiece lenses.
According to the present invention, there is provided a collapsible binocular comprising a substantially rectangular-faced open-sided housing having a front wall formed with a pair of objective lens apertures and a rear wall formed with a pair of eyepiece lens apertures. A top wall, a bottom wall, the front wall, and the rear wall of the housing are integrally connected, and a flap is integrally connected to the front wall for attaching the front wall to under side of a visor extending from the top wall and passing the front wall. The bottom wall has an intermediate transverse fold line. There is also an elongated side wall member, having a centered portion formed with a pair of objective lens apertures, and a left side wall member and a right side wall member integrally connected to a left side wall member end and a right side wall member end, respectively. The left side wall member end and the right side wall member end each have an eyepiece lens aperture. The elongated side wall member is affixed to the housing by an objective lens means and an eyepiece lens means such that the objective lens means and the eyepiece lens means are positioned in the pair of objective lens apertures and in the pair of eyepiece lens apertures, respectively. The left side wall member and the right side wall member may be integrally attached to the front wall or to the rear wall such that the from wall or the rear wall, respectively, plays role of a centered portion. The objective lens means comprises a pair of objective lenses, a unitary objective lens case and a unitary objective lens case clip. The eyepiece lens means comprises a pair of eyepiece lenses, a unitary eyepiece lens case and a unitary eyepiece lens case clip. The unitary objective lens case and the unitary eyepiece lens case and the unitary objective lens case clip and the unitary eyepiece lens case clip are flexible and add durability and strength to the binocular. The unitary objective lens case and the unitary eyepiece lens case and the unitary objective lens case clip and the unitary eyepiece lens case clip also protect the lenses when the binocular is being used and when the binocular is collapsed and not in use. When the present invention is assembled, the pair of objective lens apertures of the housing will be in alignment with the pair of objective lens apertures of the elongated side wall member and the pair of eyepiece lens apertures of the housing will be in alignment with the pair of eyepiece lens apertures of the elongated side wall member so as to place the two pairs of eyepiece lens apertures in coincidence and in longitudinal alignment with the two pairs of objective lens apertures. Fold lines on the housing and on the elongated side wall member define the front wall, the rear wall, the top wall, the bottom wall, the left side wall member, the right side wall member, the flap and the visor. Said fold lines enable collapsing the housing and the elongated side wall member binocular from a fixed position to a collapsed position.
The present invention also provides a second embodiment and a third embodiment of the collapsible binocular. In the second embodiment and the third embodiment, the substantially rectangular-faced open-sided housing is designed as before. The second embodiment and the third embodiment carry changes in the elongated side wall member. Attachment of the elongated side wall member to the substantially rectangular-faced open sided housing as an integral part of the housing establishes the major uniqueness in the second embodiment and in the third embodiment. The centered portion of the elongated side wall member is shared with and formed by the front wall in the third embodiment or by the rear wall in the second embodiment of the housing of the binocular. The left side wall member and the right side wall member extend out from sides of the front wall, in the third embodiment, or from sides of the rear wall, in the second embodiment, of the housing. In the third embodiment, where the front wall of the housing serves as the centered portion of the elongated side wall member, one eyepiece lens aperture is placed on the left side wall member end and another eyepiece lens aperture is placed on the right side wall member end. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, where the rear wall of the housing serves as the centered portion of the elongated side wall member, one objective lens aperture is placed on the left side wall member end and another objective lens aperture is placed on the right side wall member end. Thus, due to sharing of the centered portion, in the third embodiment only one pair of objective lens apertures is used and in the second embodiment only one pair of eyepiece lens apertures is used, requiring less material for formation of the binocular. Also, in the third embodiment of the collapsible binocular, usage of the front wall as the centered portion deletes any need for alignment of objective lens apertures of the front wall with other objective lens apertures. Similarly, in the second embodiment of the binocular, usage of the rear wall as the centered portion deletes any need for alignment of eyepiece lens apertures of the rear wall with other eyepiece lens apertures.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a collapsible binocular which overcomes the disadvantages of the configurations described in previous patents.
It is another object of this invention to provide a collapsible binocular wherein the pair of eyepiece lenses and pair of objective lenses are protected when the binocular is in use or being stored.
It is another object of this invention to provide a collapsible binocular wherein the lenses are held by a unitary objective lens case and a unitary eyepiece lens case and a unitary objective lens case clip and a unitary eyepiece lens case clip which add durability and strength to the body of the binocular.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from reading the specification including the attached drawings and appended claims.